Road to Hell
by skrybble
Summary: When your sister's dating your angsty ex-enemy, her relatively preferable ex isn't over her, and you and your best friend have the plan of a lifetime, it's paved with good intentions. Tokka, MaikoISH, Kataang; republished from '100'.
1. The Prologue

**1. The Prologue**

**Damn right, I'm republishing it from '100'. **

**Why, you say? To pass on the story's beautiful message? *snorts into mug of coffee* _Just because I feel like it, then_? No, fool. Because there's just way too much fun to have with these characters ^_^  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA.

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Realistically, none of it would have happened if Aang was capable of moving on, or if Suki ever made the slightest effort to keep her boyfriend under control, if Ty Lee could see bad ideas for what they were and Iroh didn't have a repressed and shockingly devious inner child.

Nothing would ever have happened if Mai's single joy in life wasn't a lack of joy, if Jin had grabbed Zuko's hand before he ran, leaving her standing by a fountain dancing with firelight in the falling dusk. There would have been no problem at all, come to that, if Zuko wasn't such a cauldron of trouble waiting to happen, with all that inner turmoil and teenage angst just waiting to manifest through hormones. Maybe if Ozai had been a better parent, he wouldn't exist in a perpetual state of self-doubt, and he wouldn't have dreamed to question himself and Mai in the first place. Hell, if Azula wasn't all crazy, then she might have kept her brother and best friend in line, and the _hell_ he would have been getting friendly with a _waterbender._

And Spirits, none of it would even have been possible if Katara wasn't… well, _Katara_.

So really, logically, if you thought about it, it was everyone else's fault_ but_ theirs.

Really.

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**Nothing is Tokka's fault. Ever. If you try hard enough, you can blame anything on Katara X)**


	2. The Mission

**2. The Mission**

**So. If you're wondering (I know you're not. Shut up) a little while ago I asked the readers of my plot-bunny mess known as '100' for opinions on Zutara, and got some interesting answers. Mostly, it seems, the non-fans are **_**extreme**_** non-fans—am I surprised? Not really—but the actual shippers mostly said, "MOAR Zutara plz… you can even bash Katara if you want; just have it there." (I'm paraphrasing. You're much more eloquent than that ^_^)**

**So all I can say, really, is that you asked for this, Avatards. Duck and cover, Zutarians; Aang's learned what a backbone is.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA or**** the Steam…**

* * *

When the Avatar threw a hissy-fit, it was kind of hard not to pay attention.

Sokka awoke to sounds he'd say were battle were the war not a couple months over: earthquaking explosions that shook the ground and sent him jarring half an inch into the air with every crash. He scrunched up his face, tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but he was getting whiplash and it was kind of obnoxious. Couldn't even be six in the morning, and Aang had already snapped. Some vacation this had turned out to be. Spirits, was _one_ quiet weekend away at Ember Island too much to ask for?

Well, apparently. So he wriggled out of his nice warm sleeping bag and into the not-at-all-nice daylight, rubbing at bleary eyes as he risked poking his head out from under the covers. It took his vision a moment to adjust, and when at last he was able to see, he almost wished he couldn't. Aang was a little way away near the waterfall, flinging boulder after boulder at the side of the cliffs as if hoping to start a landslide.

Next to Sokka, Toph smacked her lips and frowned without opening her eyes. "Sloppy technique," she mumbled, and rolled over, pulling the sleeping bag tighter around herself.

"Toph!" he hissed. She groaned loudly and retreated further into the blankets. "_Toph!_"

"_Nooo_," she groaned. "Quiet now. Sleeping."

"Toph, we should go talk to Aang."

"Nuh-uh."

"The sun'll be up in a few minutes anyway."

"And this affects me… _how_?"

"Just _come?_" he pled, abandoning tact. "I'm not good at talking to people about, you know… stuff."

"Stuff like, how your sister's totally playing tonsil hockey with Sparky right about now?"

With pleasure, she sensed Sokka's jaw grit. He clenched his fist, fighting the sudden urge to punch something. "Just think," she continued, "what they might do with the whole entire Fire Nation Palace to themselves…"

"Nothing," said Sokka. "_Nothing at all_."

"'Oh, Zuko'," said Toph loudly, her voice abruptly soprano and singsong, "'it's such a beautiful day for a little friendly sparring. Maybe you should take your shirt off so that I won't get it wet…'"

"_Toph—_"

Her voice plunged into a rough, husky baritone that was, unfortunately, an almost impeccable Zuko. "'Oh, Katara, you're so attractive when you're trying to kill me!' 'Oh, Zuko, you're so good at bending, I wonder what else your _hands _are good for?'"

It was hard to explain how, since she was hidden by blankets, he could _hear_ her grinning. "Hey," she added, "you know what you get when you combine fire and water? _Steam_. That's kind of ironic, isn't i—"

"_Don't_," he interrupted through teeth so tightly clamped together, she was amazed they hadn't shattered under the pressure. "Do not even go there, Toph. Steam—that's so wrong, Toph—hey you know what?" he added suddenly. "It's not true at all. Iroh's going to be there to… to keep an eye on…"

He trailed weakly off, the sentence collapsing halfway through. "I'm screwed," he said weakly.

"Sucks for you," she replied, shrugging—at least, he thought it was a shrug; all he could make out was the heap of blankets twitching slightly. "But we can't really head back there with Twinkles having a breakdown, so since I can't do anything, I think I'm just going to go back to slee—"

Approximately thirty seconds later, Aang looked up to see Sokka tramping towards him with all the inescapability of a Fire Nation battleship. Toph was slung over his shoulder, sack-of-potatoes style. The Avatar glanced up as they came, slamming a boulder especially violently against the cliff. Sokka swung Toph down without a word, and she yawned, folding her arms. "Your form's gone to hell."

"So?"

Toph whistled, low and mocking. "Whoa. Slow down, rebel."

The next boulder slammed so hard against the mountain she couldn't even see for a moment, but she didn't give him the satisfaction of flinching. "Having fun?"

"No."

"Well, gosh, Sokka. He's not having fun—our camping weekend's a failure." She turned to her friend, stroking her chin. "Whatever _shall_ we do?"

"Um," said Sokka weakly. "Why aren't you having fun, Aang?"

"She's talking."

That one stung. Toph's fists clenched. Okay, so she was being obnoxious, but that wasn't the point. Aang wasn't supposed to call her out on it. Aang's name was _Twinkles_! What gave him the right to insult her?

Or so went her train of thought; physically, she fought the urge to actually conjure the avalanche Aang had been tempting, instead twitching her hand and lobbing a chunk of rock at his back. It was almost satisfying, until...

"Ow!" he bellowed, head snapping around, and before either Toph or Sokka knew what was happening, a roar of flame exploded out towards her.

She got her wall up barely in time, and it glanced around a shield of rock, but as she jerked back her hands, the fingers were raw and blistering from being pressed against the now-burning stone. "What the _hell_?" she exploded, snapping them outward and up with a sharp rip of pain as the flesh tightened. A sheath of rock rose to envelop a suddenly pale and stunned-looking Aang up to his chest, pinning his arms, and then she flew at him. Her first punch connected with his jaw, her second his nose, and then Sokka got his arms around her and yanked her away, hissing and arching like an alley cat mid-brawl. Throughout it all, Aang didn't so much as flinch.

"What the hell?" she repeated. "Who are you, _Sparky?_"

His eyes flashed, and the rock around him hissed with fractures and shattered into a million pieces. "No!" he barked, face contorting like a gargoyle's. "No, actually, I'm _not_ Zuko, because clearly _he's_ got something that I frigging don't!"

Neither of the two had ever heard him swear before. It was the disturbing equivalent of seeing a teddy bear wielding heavy weaponry. "Aang," Sokka mumbled, "maybe you should calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" snarled the Avatar. "It's always 'calm down, Aang! Relax, Aang! You're the _Avatar_, Aang, you're better than that!'" He turned away, running his hands across his bare scalp. "You two don't know how it feels. Loving someone who doesn't love you back… seeing them together_…_"

"I know," Sokka said. "You're right, Aang. Toph and I have never been in that position; we can't know how you feel right now."

Nobody noticed Toph's fists clenching as he spoke. Looking back, however, she would later recognize it as the moment she realized, one way or another, she had to help Aang.

"I don't get it," she said, tilting her head to the side. "What happened with you and Sugarqueen? I thought you guys had been a thing forever."

Aang let out an explosive sigh, sinking to the ground. Toph and, after a moment, Sokka flopped down on either side of him. "She said she was too confused," he said, face twisting as he spoke. _Yep, she and Sparky seem _real_ confused,_ thought Toph, but bit her tongue. "What we had reminded her too much of the war, and she wanted to put that behind her, and… he has _hair_!" he blurted, startling both of them. "Is that it? Do you think she liked me better when I had hair?"

"I'm pretty sure it's not the hair," said Sokka delicately.

He dropped his head into his hands, muffling his next words. "A month," he muttered. "It's been a month… I thought I could get over her, but… _argh_!" He slammed a fist against the ground. "I don't want to believe I've lost her," he murmured. "I _can't_ lose her."

And no one noticed Sokka's eyes widen and fall to the ground, unable to keep Aang's gaze. For a moment it was too easy to let Aang and Katara fade, for the words to paint the picture of a white-haired princess and the warrior she'd left behind. He swallowed hard—it hurt like hell to do so—and later would recognize it as the point _he_ knew he had to help Aang... even if it _was_ his sister.

"You haven't lost her," Toph blurted. "She just needs some time to come around. You know how she is like that."

"No," Aang snapped. "No, I've _given_ her time. She doesn't want me—you know it, but I thought you'd have the decency to tell me to my _face_!"

His voice rose as he spoke, and Toph's face darkened. "Great, get angry. That's a good idea. Want to burn one of us again; would that help?"

"You don't understand!" he burst out, leaping to his feet in a flurry of air. "I've already lost everyone once; now I'm losing her—!"

"Aang!" Sokka started, but Aang had turned away, footsteps quickening as he went.

"Leave me alone," he snapped. His glider was lying on the ground nearby, and he snatched it up as he passed. "I just need some time to—to think…"

His last words were lost as he launched himself into the air. The wings snapped open, and he was off, soaring up towards the smoky clouds. There was a short and rather stunned moment of silence.

"Okay," Toph murmured, working her fingers gingerly across the new burns on her palms. "Who's that bag o' hormones, and what in Spirits' names has he done with Twinkles?"

Sokka stared at the patch of sky that had swallowed Aang whole in just moments. "_Damn_."

"I know," she sighed. "Even I thought he'd take puberty better than _this_."

But Sokka was too deep in thought to laugh. He inspected the events of the past few minutes carefully, circling them mentally as a cat might do a suspicious new toy, batting at them lightning-fast to see what new sides they might reveal. "Toph," he said at last, "I'm concerned."

"For us?"

"And the rest of the Four Nations, yes."

"Especially the _steam_ nation, right?"

Sokka flinched and dropped his head, taking a slow breath in. "Toph," he said again.

"Yes, Sokka?"

"We've got to do something."

"Such as?" She snorted. "Seems like the Talk didn't quite go as planned."

"No," he corrected, still watching the sea of sky into which Aang had vanished. "I didn't say we had to _talk _about something. I said we've got to _do_ something."

"Ah."

"Something _drastic_."

"You don't mean…?"

"Oh yes I do."

"Ah." She nodded slowly. "Right."

"I think he'll thank us. In the end."

"In the _end_. So you don't think we should, you know, actually _tell _him we're screwing with lives and emotions, some of which are his."

"We don't have to. I… uh, I think he'd disapprove."

"_Would_ he?"

A pause. "That's a fair point."

"So if we…" She broke off to cough loudly and pointedly, possibly because she was unaware whether Aang was nearby or not and possibly because she enjoyed it too much. "_Instigated civil war in the steam nation_—"

"—That's not getting any better, Toph."

"_If we broke up the steam nation_," she repeated, forging on, "then what it really depends on is Aang's sense of timing, right? Is he going to be there for Katara when she really needs him? Strike when the iron's hot?"

"…We are still talking about Aang, right?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

"So…?"

"So we're going to have to be good, Sokka."

"Good?"

"Better."

"Masterminds?"

"If you like."

His smile widened. "_Criminal _masterminds?"

"…I worry about you."

He chose to ignore the comment. "General Toph," he said, turning towards her and snapping a worryingly excited salute, "the war's begun."

The smile that spread across her lips was nothing short of fearsome. "Those two," she declared, "aren't gonna know what hit them."

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… **It begins.**

**Anyone who wants an image/metaphor, letting Tokka loose in Zutara's garden is like letting the giant monster loose on rampage in Tokyo. It wanders around flailing randomly, destroying crap and wreaking hell because it **_**can**_**, and then it gets stupid and lets itself get gunned down and tears down the entire city in its dying gasps.**

**Except then… it lives. And Tokyo—by which I mean Zutara—might as well never have existed.**

**Yeah. This is why I don't use metaphors.**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	3. The Plan

**3. The Plan  
**

**I've been asked to explain **_**the steam**_**. Best I can do: it's supposed to be what you get when you mix fire and water; hence, the elemental symbol for Zutara. However, in the immortal words of Astoria Goode, "One person told me, 'When you pour water on fire it creates steam!' or something among those lines. And I'm like, 'No, it just creates a really big mess what with the ashes and the smoke and the charred wood and all…'"**

**I hope you don't mind me using your words****—it's just you phrased it so beautifully ^_^ There's the ****steam****, folks. Enjoy.  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA.**

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"It's like I said before," Sokka said, clapping his hands together. "The basis of this plan is _scandal_."

He spoke as if a stadium-sized crowd was clinging to his every word. In fact, it was only Toph and Ty Lee, sitting in crates in front of him: the former sitting cross-legged in front of him and looking politely disinterested; the latter staring up at him while she swayed slowly, balancing on her hands. The three of them had taken refuge in the wine cellar of the Fire Nation palace to scheme—with the Summer's End Ball fast approaching, it was one of the only quiet places free to stake out.

"Our attack comes in three stages," Sokka continued, glancing down at the scroll in his hand. It had long strings of notes and tactics scrawled across it, a couple sketches of the ballroom, and a diagram of the Aang/Katara/Zuko love triangle. Oh, and a small note in the corner: '_hi cutie! xoxo Ty Lee_'. He was no longer quite sure he should have enlisted _her_ help, but it was a bit late for that. "The first," he explained, looking back up, "is reconnaissance, the second is the direct offensive, and the final stage is the clincher."

"Did you _practice_ this talk?"

"Quiet in front," he said lamely, glaring at Toph. "The purpose of Stage One, as you both know, is to uncover any past scandals of 'Z's, namely of the, erm, _female_ variety."

Toph snorted and Ty Lee giggled, and a flush that started at his neck rose slowly up through Sokka's face. Quickly he looked down at his paper again, if for no reason but to keep from looking at them. "Stage Two: 'Z' gets caught by 'K' fraternizing—scandalously—with other female persons. And Stage Three—"

He'd have sworn he could hear Toph rolling her eyes. "This better not involve the word _scandalous_, Sokka."

He pressed his lips together, scratching a hurried line through a word on the paper, before looking back up. "It's _Agent Wolf_ to you—and no, of course it doesn't. Stage three: 'Z' catches 'K' and 'A' sharing scandalo—erm, _intimate_ moment during dance. 'A' and 'K' are reunited, and any associations between 'Z' and 'K', present or future, are successfully undone. Mission, complete."

Ty Lee raised a hand to her mouth to whistle-cheer loudly, and Sokka allowed himself a grin before continuing. "_Agent Rose_," he said, raising an eyebrow at her in a manner he considered very debonair, "what's the status of Stage One?"

"Good!" she chirped, flipping up onto her feet. "I talked to Iroh, and apparently there's this girl Jin that Zuko totally hooked up with while they were all in Ba Sing Se. She sounds majorly cute, right, and Iroh said they had dinner, and when Zuko came back," she finished, lowering her voice, "he was _smiling_."

She paused a beat for emphasis, looking crestfallen when Toph and Sokka didn't react. "Guys, Zuko! _Smiling!_ He doesn't, like, _do_ that! This is a big deal!"

"Girl has a point," Toph mused. "This is Sparky while he was in his super-emotional phase. If he was actually _smiling..._"

Ty Lee nodded solemnly. "Like, with teeth and everything."

"Then this has promise," Sokka finished. "So we write to this girl, and get her to show up at the ball." A glance down gave him a full view of the skepticism in Toph's face, but he shrugged it off. "This isn't a time for subtleties, guys. We're going to have to hit them with everything we've got. Jin's just our front line."

She smirked. "Of course. Full _steam _ahead._"_

A vessel in Sokka's temple began to pound, and Toph, feeling his blood pressure kick up a couple notches, allowed herself an innocent grin. Her friend took a breath through his nose and let it out, counting mentally to ten. "Iroh'll be able to contact her, right?" he asked loudly, of Ty Lee.

She beamed. "Already done, boss. Sent Hawky off and everything."

"Good work, Agent Rose. Right." Sokka rubbed his hands together, forehead furrowing into his _plotting_ face. "Stage Two is slightly different. This is the direct offensive: Stage One stirs up a little mistrust, but this stage is deliberately crafted to drive them apart completely."

"Snoozles, you're getting _way_ too into this."

But to her surprise, instead of getting all twitchy and aggravated like she'd expected, Sokka smiled at her. "Actually, _Agent Rocky, _I think you'll be pretty interested in this next part."

Toph paled slightly—and since at best, she had the complexion of a sickly ghost, this was saying a lot. "See, we need to drive a wedge between the two of them," Sokka continued, "and I can't think of a better person for this particular job."

"This better not be going where I think it is, Sokka."

He was enjoyed it too much even to correct '_Agent Wolf'_. "So—for the sake of the plan, you understand—you are going to kiss 'Z'."

"You're _joking_," Toph deadpanned, just Ty Lee's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Oh!" she blurted. "Oh! _I'll_ kiss him!"

"No, and _no_," Sokka said firmly, to one and then the other. "You can't, Agent Rose; Kat… 'K' won't fall for it. You…" He paused, struggling. His first thought was actually, _You'll kiss anything that moves_, but suspecting that wouldn't do it, he finished, "You're too good a friend of Mai's to do that, even though they're not together."

"And I'm Zuko's friend!" Toph snapped.

Ty Lee blinked. "And I'm _not_?"

"Hey!" Sokka raised his hands, momentarily catching both girls' attention. "Hold on. Ty Lee," he said, "can I have a second to talk this over with To… Agent Rocky?"

Maybe she caught his pleading look, and maybe she simply decided to humor him and let the _Agent Rose_ slip slide. Whatever the case, Ty Lee paused and then winked conspiratorially—Sokka had no idea what she was trying to say, but gave her a weak grin in return—and then the gymnast flipped up onto her hands in one swift motion, teetering out the door. Sokka glanced down at Toph. She sat on the ground in front of him, arms so tightly crossed it seemed unlikely she would ever be able to unknot them. "Okay," she said as he took his own seat, before he could even get out a word, "_no_."

"Agent Rocky, it's a crucial part of Stage—"

"And why do I have to do it?"

"It's not supposed to be a big deal!"

"Then why can't you do the kissing instead?"

Sokka raised an eyebrow, letting what she'd just said sink in. "Right," said Toph a moment later, ducking her head, and Sokka agreed uncomfortably, "That's wrong no matter how you look at it."

"Okay," she sighed. "Fine. But just think about it for a second. Even if Sparky never finds out whose plan this was, he's my friend. I can't kiss him in front of Sugarqueen. He'll blame me for the whole breakup if I do, and I don't want to deal with him when he's moody. Did enough of that six months ago. 'Sides," she added sullenly, "kissing your friend'd just be... awkward."

And somewhere in there, Sokka realized, was a really good point. They didn't want fingerprints on this scheme, let _alone_ lip-prints, and if anyone knew Toph was involved, it didn't take the Fire Lord to figure out Sokka had a hand in it too. They needed to avoid direct contact with the enemy, he resolved, and crossed out a line of notes on the page.

"Kissing your friend," he echoed. "That's awkward?"

She nodded ferociously.

"Would kissing me be awkward?"

It took Toph a moment to form a response. "Gwhaa?" she mumbled, sounding like she was choking on her tongue, and then, "Is this... relevant?"

"You don't want to kiss Zu—ah, 'Z'," he shrugged. "Fair enough. But Ka… I mean, 'K'—"

She seemed to regain some of her edge as he stuttered, relaxing again—though not quite all the way. "Sokka, no one's listening. You can say their names."

He sighed, conceding the point to her. "Here's the thing: Katara just needs to think she's seeing Zuko. And you're right; you kissing him is too obvious. But if it wasn't really Zuko…"

She was quiet for so long he was about to clarify further, but at last she spoke, saving him a fresh heap of discomfort. "You think I should… you know, get caught with you."

A nod.

"You, dressed as Sparky."

Another nod.

It was a Spirits-awful plan. She knew it. So she really had no excuse.

But there were some opportunities one didn't pass up.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea."

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**Reviews are wonderful, as always!**


	4. The Complication

**4. The Complication**

**Hehe. So you _know_ it's going to be an interesting one...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA.  
**

* * *

The ball gown was horrible, as was the makeup, as were the multiple pounds of ornaments in her hair, and the way people kept looking at her, some staring outright. Did she have something on her face? Well, stupid question; she had paint caked on her face, but _besides _the obvious.

Worst by far, though, were the butterflies.

They were not because the Steam Nation's demise was officially underway, and they were decidedly not because she had just been swaying around the ballroom with Aang. Her friend just looked so miserable she'd had to offer to dance _once_: Teo—ah, Spirits bless the naïve—had approached them about ten minutes ago, and after a little small talk wanted to know why Aang had let Zuko dance with Katara for so long. After two minutes, Twinkles been subsequently ditched at the punch bowl, and, feeling she'd done her part as his friend, Toph was free to be swallowed by nerves again.

Because right now, Sokka was busy getting his own facepaint, if of a different nature, from Ty Lee. She _was_, to be fair, the most artistically inclined of the three—not exactly that Toph or Sokka posed much competition—and so she was in the process of paling Sokka's skin and painting that wonderful scar that was the source of so much angst onto his face.

_Because_ Stage Two—the scandalous part of the plan—was about to… _no, _Toph corrected herself. It had just begun.

Ty Lee had just flounced through the door; Iroh, taking his cue, waved across the room to get his nephew's attention. Zuko pecked Katara lightly on the lips and then hurried away, turning out through a side door when Iroh motioned in that direction.

Ty Lee's turn.

Right away, the gymnast pirouetted over to Katara, tapping her gently on the shoulder. Katara's heart pattered for a moment in surprise—she and Ty Lee were far from best friends—but then Ty Lee bent closer, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. Toph didn't need to hear her to know what she'd said: _Hey, um,__ Katara? Look, I think there's something you need to see_.

As Ty Lee lifted a hand to point at her, Toph hesitated, trying to look as nervous as possible—it wasn't terribly hard—and then turned, making quickly for the door.

She was just leaving the ballroom when the first thing went wrong.

As Ty Lee continued to explain in whispers why Katara _absolutely, like, no excuses, had to come with her right now_, Suki glanced over at the two and didn't quite managed to ignore them. There was the fact that Katara looked suddenly horrorstruck, of course, but the truth was that Ty Lee wasn't even close to subtle.

So when the gymnast grabbed Katara's wrist and all but frogmarched her out of the ballroom, Suki snuck a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, and then hurried after them.

* * *

"Thank Spirits you're here," he called, as she rounded the corner into the little courtyard. "This makeup's the worst."

"Oh, right. Cry me a river."

A smirk slid across his lips. "You look like Kyoshi," he said, and she smacked him in the shoulder.

"About a hundred times cooler, though. Come on, _Sparky_, let's make this look good."

Carefully smoothing the skirt for no other reason than to seem occupied, she took a seat on the bench next to him, taking a moment to examine the garden. She could feel the tree behind them, branches reached over their heads; she sensed the small pond in front of them, water lapping softly against the earth; she knew that there was a nest of turtle-ducks, the smallest the size of her palm, nestled up in the small patch of grasses at the far edge of the water. It was still and quiet and so peaceful that their plan suddenly felt ridiculous, but then Sokka wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and thoughts of turtle-ducks slid away. "I hear them coming," he whispered, and she nodded weakly.

"Just sit here?"

"Yep. And look adoring, maybe."

"Don't push i—" she started, but broke off mid-word. "They're at the west doorway." Sokka nodded, angling his head so Katara would be able to see the scar.

She smiled briefly, an expression indulgent if not adoring, and Sokka bent closer. "_Is she buying it?_" he started, and then Katara's heart took off, slamming against her ribs. Toph was about to nod, until—

_Oh, hell. _"Sokka!" she hissed, as Katara's lips parted. "Katara's gonna yell! We've got to do somethi—"

His mouth on hers cut her off mid-word.

* * *

Sokka had nearly fallen off the bench when Toph walked into the courtyard.

There was a distinct difference between knowing your friend was going to be dressed up and actually _seeing_ it. It was… Spirits, the last time she'd dressed like this was a year ago in Ba Sing Se, but she'd been a kid then, and somehow it seemed she _wasn't_ now. He swallowed hard, searching for something—anything—to say. "Thank Spirits you're here," he blurted, and when her face fell slightly, "This makeup's the worst."

"Oh, right," she muttered, moving seamlessly from a jog to a swagger. She had a walk that practically reeked of wasted nobility, so utterly _Toph _that he was reassured. "Cry me a river."

He'd been one-upped, but didn't really mind, as what she'd said gave him both an opportunity and an excuse to stare. She'd done something with her eyes that made them stand out, even in the dusk, and her hair was half-down—it was _long_! Did she usually wear it up? Why didn't he _notice_ these things? "You look… like Kyoshi," he said, catching himself halfway, and she gave a smack on the shoulder he probably deserved.

"About a hundred times cooler, though." _I'll say_, thought Sokka. "Come on, _Sparky_, let's make this look good."

She took a seat on the bench, taking a slow breath and let it out though her nose. Sokka's eyes narrowed in scrutiny—she seemed to be lost in thought—but after a moment he noticed her toeing the ground, and realized she was looking at the garden.

He couldn't deny that it was beautiful, though to be completely honest, he wasn't entirely sure he liked it. Like the rest of the palace, it was regal and elegant and slightly _too _picture-perfect, the kind of place that always make Sokka feel small. For all the perks to being Fire Lord, he didn't envy Zuko having to live here.

Toph, of course, was a completely different case. She'd grown up in a home just like this; he had no idea if she liked the palace, but the fact remained she was completely at ease here, just as she was wherever she went. Usually, being around her would make Sokka feel better, but for some reason right now, sitting next to his best friend was making Sokka very nervous.

So, naturally, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I hear them coming," he said, mostly as an excuse.

She'd gone stiff. "Just sit here?"

"And look adoring, maybe?"

If it came out slightly too hopeful, Toph didn't seem to notice. "Don't push i—" She broke off. "They're at the west gate," she murmured, and Sokka resisted the urge to glance up, instead tilting his head to make sure the scar was visible. She smiled up at him, and for a moment he felt himself freeze. There was something about her smile, the emotion not quite masked by amusement, that reminded him startlingly of Yue.

He panicked, bending closer to hide his face. "Is she buying it?"

Toph's mouth dropped open, the muscles in her arm tensing under his hand. "_Sokka!_" she hissed. "_Katara's gonna yell! We've got to do somethi—_"

Afterwards, he would have liked to know what the hell other _something_ he was supposed to come up with. Afterwards, he also would have liked to be able to say it was like kissing a sister, or even that it had been awkward, or at least that it had been part of the plan.

But the moment he leaned in, there wasn't any Katara and certainly no plan. He was no longer aware of the garden or the makeup, just her and himself and the way it wasn't Toph he was kissing any more, not the Toph he thought he knew, someone new and captivating but still Toph all the same—?

Several meters away, Katara gave a yelp like a kicked puppy and turned to run. Ty Lee, fighting a giggle of delight, spun to chase after her.

But Suki stayed precisely where she was, in the doorway on the opposite side of the courtyard, staring at the two. There was something wrong with this picture that Katara hadn't taken the time to see. Not even considering that Toph was the little sister Zuko wished he'd had—and unless Suki had read him _very_ wrong, the boy didn't seem like the incestuous sort—there was something off about Zuko: his build, and the way his hair hung, and…

_And the fact that his scar was rubbing away._

When a Kyoshi warrior wants to move, she moves fast. Toph—under later defense of being _just a little distracted at that point, Sokka_—never saw it coming any more than he did. The punch caught him across the cheek, knocking him off the bench. Suki stared down at him, eyes ablaze.

"What," she said. "The. _Hell_?"

Her glare was reserved wholly for Sokka. If she had so much as noticed the tension, Toph might have been a third wheel, but, staring dazedly ahead, she seemed to comprehend none of it. "Um," said Sokka. The last ten seconds were too much to wrap his head around all at once—he felt like he'd been flung into a cold shower without warning, and coherency was a bit much to expect when managing to breathe was already a stretch. "It's not… what it… looks… like?"

"I can see what you're doing," Suki snapped. "You're trying to break up Zuko and Katara by making it look like he's cheating. I'm not _stupid_, Sokka; I don't care about that."

He blinked. "You… don't?"

"No, I don't." She watched him carefully, the relief beginning to dawn over his face, and then her eyes narrowed. "What I do have a little problem with is why the hell you're kissing her instead of your _girlfriend?_"

"Bu… but…" _But it had been his and Toph's plan, and he didn't want to risk involving too many people, so would she rather he kissed Ty Lee, and anyway, he didn't think she'd ever know _or_ that it would come to _this—_  
_

None of which were very good reasons at all. Toph, who seemed to have jolted to, stayed statue-still, terrified call attention to herself. "But I can't!" he protested. "Everyone knows I'm dating you; if Katara saw you kissing me-as-Zuko, she'd expect me to come kick Zuko's ass for it, but then I couldn't do that because _I'm_ Zuko—"

"_Who's_ Zuko?"

All three froze. Zuko stood in the doorway, eyes alight with fury, twin fires leaping in the palms of each hand. Behind him, as they watched, Aang scrambled through the doorway, freezing in place when he caught sight of the four-way standoff. "Oh," Toph mumbled. "H-hey, Zuko. Aang."

"Katara just came running from here," said the Fire Lord softly.

Sokka gulped. "Oh?"

"She's crying," he continued. "And when I tried to talk to her, she slapped me."

"I'm… sorry?"

Zuko's eyes flashed. "So," he said. "I think you'd better explain now."

It wasn't a suggestion.

* * *

**Angry!Zuko is NOT to be messed with. You've got to appreciate that all his pent-up sexual tension is coming into play here (and as anyone who's watched Avatar knows, there's never a shortage of _that_.)**

**Stay tuned for Jin, Mai, and catfights, and maybe all three at once... and till then, reviews are always amazing!**


	5. The Royal Mess

**5. The Royal Mess**

**So I realized today how long it's been since I updated. In my defense, I'm in the middle of a monthlong vacation from the site—just throwing it out there ^_^ Anyone heard of NaNoWriMo? Well, it's 'National Novel Writing Month' and I'm doing it this month instead of November because I've finally (God forbid) got some free time.**

**But I'm doing holiday updates, and since this all be sitting on my hard drive, there's no reason but my pathetic memory—slightly less than that of a high gerbil—that I haven't uploaded. Sorry for the wait, guys, and thanks for bearing with me!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA.

* * *

**Sokka's eyes darted to Toph—standing by the tree with Aang and Zuko—and then back to Suki, in front of him. Judging from the last few minutes, it seemed Toph's explanation was going a lot better than his own. Unfortunately, when talking to an angry woman, there was apparently nothing one could say right.

Even—_e__specially—_'I'm sorry'.

"I don't care if you're sorry!" Suki snarled, hands balled in fists at her sides. "It doesn't change the fact you did this behind my back. Spirits, Sokka, what other things have you just not told me?"

"Nothing!" he protested. "Nothing at all, I swear!"

She hesitated. Her face fell a moment later, and she blinked hard, dipping her head. "You know what the worst part is?" she said softly. "I don't know if I believe you."

"Suki—"

"Did you hear me?" she demanded, staring back up at him. A couple tears were running down her cheeks, tracing flesh-colored lines in her meticulous Kyoshi makeup. "I can't _trust_ you, Sokka. I don't know if that matters to you or not, but for the record, it freaking _sucks _for me."

He grabbed her arm as she started to turn away. "Please," he blurted, "can't we just talk—?"

"There's nothing to talk about." She jerked back, swiping at her eyes and smearing the makeup. "We can't do this, Sokka, not if we don't trust each other."

His hand fell, limp, to his side, and she turned with one quiet sniff, leaving the courtyard. Sokka stared after her, mouth hanging open, and then turned silently towards the other three. Aang, Zuko, and Toph were all watching, though the moment he caught sight of them, their faces shifted to expressions of polite disinterest. Aang stood to offer the warrior his seat, and Sokka took it, collapsing heavily onto the bench.

"Did she…?" said Toph quietly, at the same time Zuko began, "Are you…?"

"Yeah," Sokka murmured, not looking up. "Guess so."

Toph grimaced. "I'm... Sokka, I'm sorry."

"Nah." He shrugged feebly. "I think she's right; we've been distant for a while. It's… it's okay." He glanced up, seeing, as if for the first time, the three worried stares directed at him. "Really," he insisted. "I'll be all right." His eyes fixed on Zuko and Aang, mainly the former, who sat next to him on the bench. "But... you're not mad?"

Sokka sounded rather more skeptical than he should have, Toph observed—did he _want_ Sparky pissed at them?—but Zuko simply shook his head. All the fight seemed to have gone out of him: when he first sat down, at the beginning of her explanation, he had gripped the bench's edges so tightly his knuckles bulged against his skin, but as she had explained the Plan, his grip had relaxed, not even so much composed as thoroughly exhausted.

"I'm not angry," he sighed, lifting a hand to run through his hair. "Well, that I got slapped, yeah, but it's just as well. Actually," he added, with a little snort, "I guess it's almost funny."

Toph blinked. "Funny?" she echoed. "How?"

Zuko shrugged, a wry grin on his face as he stared down at his hands. "Well, the thing is, you didn't have to do any of this. I was going to break up with her anyway."

For a moment, there was utter silence.

"You're not lying," said Toph weakly.

Aang gaped. "You—b-but—_Katar—__why_?"

His lips twitched upwards. "It's just… look, Sokka," he started, glancing over at the other boy, "it's not that Katara's not a great person and everything, she _is_, it's just…"

"Just _what_?" Aang demanded, but Sokka simply eyed Zuko, looking vaguely amused by the sudden role-reversal. "Just…?" he prompted.

"She's so _emotional!"_ Zuko exploded, throwing his hands in the air. "She either couldn't be happier, or the whole world's about to end, and when I do anything wrong it's like she going to kill me, and—and she cries! Like… a lot." He stared plaintively up at the warrior, looking utterly pitiful. "And the hope," he added timorously. "Does she talk to you about hope?"

Sokka paused, tilting his head to the side, and then clapped Zuko suddenly on the shoulder. "Zuko," he declared, "you are not alone."

Zuko stared for a split second, and then the smile that had been skulking on the edge of his lips finally appeared, sliding across his face like a glissando. He laughed softly, and Toph grinned despite herself. The Plan was intact—intact in the sense of a smashed vase glued back together, but intact nonetheless. "So… we're good?" said Sokka, as Zuko stood, flicking a stand of hair out of his face.

"Yeah—just about." He paused, rubbing his forehead, and then turned away. "I think I should go back to the party now…" he murmured, starting to trudge towards the door.

In the next couple seconds, things happened very quickly.

"There you are!" cried someone from across the courtyard, and then a green-clad figure raced across the grass, skirting the pond. All Sokka had time to catch was a glimpse of dark, braided hair and a huge, luminescent smile, and then the girl reached Zuko and, throwing her arms around his neck, planted a long, lingering kiss on his lips. He went rigid, heart leaping, raised his hands to the girl's shoulders to tug her away—but the hands slipped loosely to her back. For just the slightest moment, Zuko kissed her back, and then the girl pulled away, and he went pale, reality catching up a few yards behind instinct.

"I'm sorry," she said, blushing slightly as Zuko gawked down at her. "I'm just… I was sure I did something wrong, and then I learn you're the Fire Lord, so I figure you'd just forgotten about me, and then I got your letter in the mail—royal messenger hawk and everything—and you wanted to see me again, and—I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm sorry." She broke off, pressing her lips together in a vain attempt to hide a grin about to split her face in two. "So… I guess you know how I feel about it, then," she mumbled.

Zuko's head swiveled around to fix Sokka and Toph with a look that could have committed mass homicide. "You invited _Jin_?"

"Ah… ha," Sokka said. Toph didn't talk, too busy miserably failing to hide a grin. "Um. Who's Jin?"

Jin's forehead furrowed. "What?" she inquried, smile dimming. "Didn't… you didn't invite me?"

Zuko blanched, turning back towards her. "No! I mean… I didn't, but I'm not… I'm not _not _happy to see you—it's just com—"

Jin's eyes went suddenly steely. "Don't," she snarled, stabbing him in the chest with a finger, "say _complicated_. Spirits, I don't know why the hell I even bothered to come. _Complicated—_what's that, just Fire Lord code for 'one-time-deal'?" Her face darkened, jaw clenching. "Maybe _I_ just don't get it," she offered, voice acerbically bright. "After all, I'm just a _commoner_. If you're royalty, is it okay to pick up a _commoner_ and kiss her and then just ditch her? Because I don't know if you're used to just getting your way like that, but that's not effing _okay_ where I come from, Zuko!"

"Jin, please," he interrupted, grabbing her shoulders. "It's not like that; _I'm_ not like that. Look, I really did like you—I still do—but I wasn't in a situation where I could get involved with someone then!"

"So you should have _told_ me!" she argued, voice rising. "You could have explained that, just told me there was personal stuff going on, and I wouldn't have got in your goddamn way! No one _made_ you kiss me!"

Silver tears were beginning to pool in her eyes, congealing on her dark lashes. "I got a letter," she whispered, "saying you were sorry, and that you'd been on the run at the time, but that you wanted to give this another chance. If you didn't really want me here, you should have just said so." She blinked and brushed her hand across her face almost simultaneously, catching the tear before it rolled across her cheek, and then swallowed. "I think I'll go now," she said faintly, turning away.

Meanwhile, Toph frowned. Two figures had appeared on the edge of her vision, blurred now beyond recognition but still moving too fast to be coincidental. "Sokka?"

He shushed her rapidly, eyes fixed on Jin and Zuko. She turned to Aang, but the Avatar himself seemed equally transfixed by the scene in front of them. "Jin!" Zuko lunged, catching her arm and spinning her around; she blinked owlishly at him. Aang caught his breath a little bit.

"I'm sorry," he said deliberately. "For how I acted—it wasn't fair to you. I should have trusted you, or at least been honest with you, but I couldn't tell anyone. My uncle and I were trying to start over—I didn't want him hurt, and I didn't want you hurt if you got involved with us."

"Didn't want me hurt?" Jin gave a bitter laugh. "Screwed that up, huh?"

"_Sokka!"_

"_Quiet, Toph!"_

"Please." His hands slipped into hers, and he met her gaze, unwavering despite the ice he found there. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I've changed a lot since then. Back while I was in Ba Sing Se I hurt too many people, and I'm sorry you were one of them."

"Sokka!" she snapped, and at last he looked up in time to see two figures in the doorway. One, clothed in black, was dragging the other by the arm. The latter wore a pink dress and a rather sheepish expression.

"This is _adorable_," Mai said loudly.

Zuko's head snapped up as though pulled by elastic, and instinctively he grabbed Jin closer, wrapping his arms around her. Mai arched a single eyebrow, and he paled, going rigid and trying to edge quickly away, before stepping back again when Jin glared. "Ty Lee giggles when she's up to something," Mai continued in a drawl, "but usually it's _never_ as interesting as _this_."

Sokka stared. "Ty Lee? You _gave away the plan_?"

"She _made_ me!" the gymnast protested. "She's got _knives!_"

Mai flicked her fingers at the words, and a silver blade danced through them. Jin gasped, and Zuko's eyes widened. "That I do," Mai said quietly. "Who's the slut, Zuko?"

"Excuse me, bitch?"

And just like that Jin had shoved Zuko's arms away, planting her hands on her hips. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm his…" Mai's eyes snapped to Zuko instantaneously. "His _ex-_girlfriend."

"Huh. That makes two of us."

It was the face-off to end all face-offs. The tension was so palpable it would have been too thick to cut with even one of Mai's knives; neither Sokka nor Toph dared move a muscle. Ty Lee whimpered quietly—Mai's hand was still clenched around her arm, the pale fingers tightening further with every word spoken. "Twinkles," Toph said pointedly, "_I think you better go see Katara now_."

He nodded rapidly and shuffled a couple inches back, eyes darting side to side, before taking off through the opposite doorway. Mai ignored it, either not noticing or—more likely—not caring. "Didn't see much of the '_ex'_ there," she observed, eyeing Jin.

The girl smirked. "Jealous?"

"No."

"Oh?" Jin's eyes gleamed. "Bitter, then."

"Do I _look_ bitter?"

"No. But you don't actually look capable of emotion either, so I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Toph gave a low whistle, raising her eyebrows. Zuko glared feebly at her, but neither Jin nor Mai appeared to notice. "Whatever," Mai snorted. "I guess you're fine—he's all about emotional girls now. Just ask his girlfriend."

That got Jin's attention, and she whirled on Zuko like a hurricane. "You have a _girlfriend_?"

He cringed. "N-no—not anymore!"

Mai laughed softly. "You work _fast_, don't you?"

Jin took a breath through her teeth. "You weren't his girlfriend a year ago, were you?" she wondered innocently. "Round the time he was in Ba Sing Se? Because he didn't seem to think he had a girlfriend then, either." She laughed dryly, face no longer half so innocent, as she watched Mai's suddenly glinting eyes flick between her and Zuko. "What, can't decide which one to _knife_ first?"

Mai met Jin's gaze and twitched her fingers. A second knife appeared in her hand. "_That_," she declared, "won't be a problem."

Zuko raised a hand, stepping forward. "Mai, Spirits, _don't_—"

The first knife whistled through the air, slashing sharply across his shoulder as he leapt aside. Ty Lee, seizing the opportunity, turned and sprinted, disappearing through the doorway; nobody made any effort to stop her. Mai tore across the courtyard but, to everyone's surprise, shoved Zuko away and flung the knife aside, instead slapping Jin across the face. The girl yelped and then, eyes murderous, threw herself at Mai, knocking her off balance. Mai flailed and tumbled into Toph, who grabbed onto Sokka's sleeve as she staggered backwards, and with an almighty _splash_, the two of them landed in the pond.

Everyone went still as Toph's fists clenched.

"Oh, that's _it_."

She got slowly to her feet, flicking soaking locks of hair out of her eyes so that absolutely everyone could see the fury blazing there. Her beautiful dress was soaked; her makeup dripped black tears; there was a strand of pondweed draped across her shoulder. Zuko, Jin, and Mai all stayed motionless, perceiving that they'd gone a step too far. Toph's hand twitched, and all three were thrown into the air, flying across the courtyard and landing hard on the ground. Zuko crashed into the tree and slumped, motionless, to the ground. Toph turned to Sokka, still sitting in the water by her knees, and glared halfheartedly.

"Your plans suck," she muttered—it had no force behind it—and then she turned, first lifting her skirts but then abandoning the effort. Instead she brushed the pondweed off her shoulder and squelched away towards the steps. Sokka picked himself up, snuck a quick look at Mai and Jin, and—seeing the looks on their faces—took off after Toph.

* * *

The plan was in shambles.

Clearly.

Anyone who had witnessed Toph and Sokka leaving the courtyard would know it.

But Ty Lee had seen no such thing. As far as she was concerned—Mai aside, anyways—the plan was going perfectly. Aang had gone to find Katara; Toph and Sokka would be back to join her shortly. This was great.

Time for Phase Three.

* * *

**Heheheheh... and you can bet that Phase Three is even louder ^_^ Ahem. Definite conclusion that this story is not pulling any punches for the boys in the Gaang. Still, catfiiiiiiight—I'm happy to admit that yes, they are deliciously fun to write (and no, I will not cower in shame. It's a guilty pleasure; leave me be **shrinks into little corner with Zuko plushie**) **

**More coming MUCH sooner this time. Happy holidays, guys, whatever you celebrate, and reviews are always amazing!  
**


	6. The Aftermath

**5. The ****Aftermath**

**So, um, I am lazy as hell. I'm sorry it's been so long, but thank you, as always, to everyone who reviewed! Your support is the very best kind of motive to keep writing.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA.**

**

* * *

**

Even if Toph had been entirely blind, she would have known Sokka was trailing a few feet behind her, from the loud and graceless _squelch_ his shoes emitted with every step. Dignity stemming from the general injustice of failure let her ignore the glistening puddles they left behind them, but with him her irritation could only go so far, and she slowed to let him catch up.

"So."

"So."

There was a pause.

"I'm sorry about—" they both began together, and then broke off with identical nervous laughs. "You first," he blurted, at the same time she prompted, "What?"

"Um." He looked down, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "I'm sorry I, you know… about the, eh… kiss." The final word came out almost inaudibly, a single fearful squeak of a syllable.

"Oh," she said quickly. "Oh. Right. No, don't worry about it—I mean, I didn't… it's not a big deal."

"Oh. Well… good."

"Yeah."

"Yep."

"Mm-hm."

"_Yep_," he said again, smacking his lips on the 'p'.

The silence seemed to grab the available oxygen and run with it, and for a moment Sokka was quite sure his tongue had shriveled and died from a sheer lack of will to live. The awkwardness was of the stifling variety, even so, but its appearance around Toph was so startlingly unprecedented that he had no idea what to do. "I'm sorry too," she muttered, after a moment. "For pulling you into the pond, I mean."

"Don't worry," he replied instantly. "I mean… not like it's my jacket." He allowed himself a fleeting glance at her, adding as an afterthought, "I'm sorry about your dress, though."

She shrugged. "Don't be. I wasn't going to wear it again."

"That's too bad," he murmured. When her eyebrows drew sharply together, he continued, "It's pretty, is all."

"Oh." She blinked. "Thanks."

"And that pondweed really brings out your eyes."

"Go to hell," she muttered, and threw a punch that caught him in the forearm. There was no small amount of gratitude behind the blow, and his flinch was a happy one. The awkwardness was alleviated and behind them now; this was safe territory again. "Here," he offered, and reached across, plucking the offending plant from her hair as they stopped outside the ballroom door she'd left through an eternity ago.

She made a face, and he flung it surreptitiously into the corner, prompting a small smirk from his friend. "Anything else?" she asked.

"A little makeup," he informed her, a tactful understatement. "Here, hold still." Reaching out carefully, he rubbed his thumb across her cheekbones, swabbing away the worst of it. Her skin was cold and wet but still, for some reason, touching her face—in fact, simply being in such close proximity—was altogether unnerving. She pressed her lips together, realizing after a moment that for no reason at all she was holding her breath. He pulled his hand away hurriedly, wiping it on his pants. "Come on," he said, motioning towards the doors, and taking her hand when she made a frantic face. "This is the quickest way to our rooms," he insisted. "I don't know about you, Toph, but I'm not exactly loving the pondwater look."

"Fine," she sighed, rolling her eyes. He acted as though she'd given an enthusiastic agreement—frankly, when she was in a sulk like this it'd be the best he'd get—and carefully, silently pushed the double doors open.

* * *

"_Hey! Hey, you! Yeah, you! Cutie with the big horn! No, no, no, down _here_—!"__  
_

One of the band members broke off from his tsungi horn riff, glancing down at Ty Lee. It wasn't a particularly professional thing to do, especially in the middle of a piece, but there were exceptions to be made when it was a pretty girl flagging you down—even more so if, when you looked at her more closely, you remembered you'd made some kind of deal with her earlier during which she batted her eyelashes a lot. "Hm?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"_Code Pink!_" she hissed, a stage whisper to be heard over the other musicians. A single pale finger jabbed insistently towards the far door of the ballroom. "_Repeat, Code Pink! The targets'll be coming any second!"_

It was then that he remembered the nuances of this deal—something about playing a romantic song? Slow waltz? That sort of thing?—and nodded fervently at her, trying hard not to be distracted by how naively low-cut her dress was. It was entirely lost on him that, with the way she beamed and giggled and sauntered away, she probably knew _exactly_ how it was cut and precisely where his eyes had been.

He tried to follow the girl's strut away, but she was lost in the throng of dancers, blending seamlessly into the crowd. The entire ballroom was a firework of color, as madly animated as a shaken snowglobe. But she was out there, and _depending _on him, goddamnit, so he turned to the band and motioned to them, lowering his horn. The dirty looks were worth it for the other musicians caught on quickly—he hadn't been alone in his interest in the girl—and all of them readied themselves for a split-second change in song.

Unknown to all of them, Ty Lee headed quickly away to the quiet bench where Iroh was waiting. A mischievous grin skirting the edges of his lips, he inclined his head in greeting, and she plopped down beside him. "I see you have been very busy with the plan," he said lightly, in his calm, accented cadence.

"Everything's in place," chirped the acrobat. "You've got your part, right?"

He cast his eyes to the sconce above his head, and the flame in it flickered and died in an instant. Ty Lee beamed, pressing her hands against her lips to conceal the grin.

"Ooh, this is going to be so _fun_," she giggled, bounding to her feet. "They'll be coming soon. It's the door over there, okay?" A vague wave of her hand accompanied the sentence.

"Eh?" Iroh glanced in the direction she'd pointed—a spot on the far wall, directly between two sets of double doors. "Ty Lee!" he hissed, as loudly as the need for stealth would allow. "Which door?"

But she was gone. Sighing, Iroh was about to turn back to his bench when the handle of a door began to turn. Had he not been looking after Ty Lee, he might have missed it, but the flicker of motion snatched his gaze from across the room. The Dragon of the West spun on his heel, hands rising sharply to his sides as his fists snapped shut. The lights throughout the room hissed out, save the two flanking the door, which leapt three times their previous height. Across the room, the music cut off abruptly and the band launched enthusiastically into a fanfare. Every person in the room blinked in surprise and turned, like moths towards the light.

In the doorway, the target of everyone's stares, stood…

_Not_ Katara and Aang.

Sokka, squinting into the dark, stared dumbstruck at the crowd, a small puddle of pondwater congealing at his feet. Beside him, Toph had gone rigid—not aware of the light, but still able to sense that every person in the room had their eyes directed straight at them. Such attention is a physical sensation, a crawling pressure on the skin, and she felt it as tangibly as she felt Sokka's hand clenching on hers.

_Uh-oh_, thought Ty Lee.

* * *

"This is all your fault."

Both girls sat on the ground, their unconscious and mutual ex-boyfriend an unwitting barricade between them. The looks Jin was giving Mai could have generated electricity; the looks Mai shot in return could have frozen a waterfall solid. "Shut up, slut," Mai said flatly, toying with a shuriken in one hand.

"If you hadn't slapped me—"

"If _you_ hadn't tackled me…"

She broke off sharply as Jin reached out, fingers almost brushing Zuko's face. Jin glanced up, meeting Mai's narrowed eyes for just a second, and then retracted her hand, scowling.

"Why the hell does this matter?" she demanded. "If you're not together."

"It doesn't."

"Clearly. That's why you hit me."

"I just—I don't have to explain this to you," Mai snapped, turning away. A moment passed, and then Jin's lips curled.

"He dumped you."

Mai's eyes flashed. "_He didn't_—"

"He dumped you," she continued, "and you're not over him at all, are you?"

"You're one to talk."

"Have you seen him?" Jin snorted, shaking her head. "He's not exactly an easy one to get over, Knives."

Mai's head snapped up. "What did you call me?"

"Well, I don't know your name."

The shuriken stopped moving idly through Mai's fingers. Her eyes rose to rest on the girl sitting across from her as if seeing her for the first time. Jin raised an eyebrow, a look that wasn't quite a grin but might yet become one flickering on her face.

"Mai," said the girl with the knives. "I'm Mai."

"Jin."

She hesitated, gaze falling to Zuko's downturned face. "Mai," she said, the name an experiment traversing her tongue. "You two weren't actually together when he and I… you know—right?"

Mai's lips tightened. "No," she muttered. "We were always…" She broke off, fists clenching and then slowly loosening against the grass, falling limp. "I've known him forever," she explained quietly. "I think I always assumed we'd be... together. But then he left, and by the time he got back… nah." She laughed wryly. "We tried. He left again. When he came back, he'd suddenly decided he liked curvy blue-eyed waterbenders instead."

"Yeowch." Jin winced. "But you still—?"

"…Yeah."

Jin paused, eying Zuko, and then abruptly flicked him in the cheek. "Boys are stupid," she said dully.

"Tell me about it."

It was probably an accident. Neither had noticed that suddenly they didn't hate the other entirely so much, and as they looked up, it must have been a fluke of the light—or something—but Mai's mouth seemed to spasm at the same time as Jin's, and unexpectedly they found themselves smiling at each other.

Between them, Zuko moaned suddenly, face contorting. The moment shattered like glass, and Jin glanced down at him, breathing slowly in and out.

"You know that you're a lucky bitch, right?"

Mai stared—because no one, _no one_, had ever lived to call her that—but Jin's gaze was fixed solely on Zuko's face. She reached out and, this time finding no venom from Mai, ran her hand along the side of his face, tracing the rough edge of his scar. "I wouldn't work with him," she murmured. "When he was on the run, sure, but... not now." She looked back up, meeting Mai's incredulous stare. "Yeah, that's right," she drawled, and her smile had a bitter edge. "_I'm_ being the bigger person, Knives. I do appreciate the look of utter shock; thanks for that."

For once, Mai seemed too surprised even for a deadpan response. "You're just… leaving?"

Jin grinned widely. "No," she corrected, and bent down, her hand curling around Zuko's neck. She lifted his head a few inches off the ground, leaning down to press her lips to his. Zuko's eyes snapped open in shock, and he began some kind of muffled protest that faded into an '_mmm_'. Mai, who had expected a modest peck, maybe a couple seconds as the most, raised an eyebrow as the kiss lingered on.

And then Jin pulled back, and Zuko, who had almost completely sat up in an effort to follow her lips, nearly tumbled to the ground again. "He's all yours," said the commoner girl, with a smirk she made no effort to conceal, and stood, turning away. She strode with impeccable poise to the doorway, and then, seeming unable to help it, added over her shoulder, "_Lee_? That's how it feels."

She rounded the corner. Zuko stared, blinking in slow motion. His head swiveled around hesitantly towards Mai, who crossed her arms.

"Did you want to say something to me, Zuko?"

He eyed her, staying quiet. Mai frowned. "Do you need a _hint_?" she pressed after a moment.

His gaze fell. "I have plenty of things _to_ say," he said softly, swallowing hard. "I just don't know that there's anything I_ can_ say to you, Mai. Nothing that's fair to you." His gaze was fixed down in his lap, a muscle in his jaw working furiously. "I… I thought that I should move on," he blurted. "I thought that you loved me because of who I acted like; I didn't think you'd want to see who I was, and I didn't want to draw out something inevitable, and then Katara… but it wasn't right, Mai." He took a deep breath, bracing himself, and then finished, "She wasn't you."

"But other than _that_, you have nothing to say."

He glanced up at her. She shifted wearily, dropping the shuriken onto the grass, and then reached out, threading her hand into his. Zuko's eyes flashed from the hand and back to her face, widening. "Sorry is a decent place to start," she murmured, and then leaned in, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. His hand tightened on hers as she pulled back.

"I told you," she murmured. "I don't hate you. Regardless of whether or not you deserve it."

A smile broke across his face like a shaft of sunlight. "I don't hate you, too," he recited, leaning closer towards her.

His head snapped sharply to the side with the force of the slap. He cried out, grabbing his cheek, and Mai smirked.

"You did deserve that."

He shrugged, still grinning weakly. "Probably."

Mai generally wasn't a person who smiled very often, but when she did, Zuko was certain there was nothing more beautiful in the world.

* * *

**D'aww. Sparky's so cute when he's all sentimental.**

**Thank you so much for bearing with me! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update, but essay season's over, and I'm about to hit spring break, so free time won't be a problem. The next update'll be much sooner. Til then, thanks for reading, and reviews are always appreciated!**


	7. The Happy Ending

**7. The Happy Ending**

**Exactly what it says on the tin, folks.  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own A:tLA.  
**

* * *

"Sokka, people are looking at us. What's going on?"

"I don't know," he hissed frantically. "This isn't part of the… _the plan_."

"Oh," she gaped, fingers tightening on his. "You don't think—but Ty Lee didn't tell them—"

"I think she…"

_Well,_ thought Iroh blithely_, it's just as well_, and called out, "Presenting the Lady Toph Bei Fong and Sokka Hakoda of the Water Tribe."

For a sharp, vivid moment, Sokka wanted to hate Iroh. The notion flashed through his mind, and then he looked back and realized that, no, in fact, he didn't. Toph looked petrified, face bone-white despite the flicker of gold from the torches that licked her cheeks. He was quite used to her being the brave one, her being the one to throw herself out with no concern for the world's opinion, but she had faltered. He had to do something. His lips tinged with the ghost memory of the kiss. Iroh… _damn_, he realized abruptly, Iroh was a smart old man. Zuko's uncle was offering him an opportunity, and Sokka had no intention of wasting it.

With a gentle but firm tug, he pulled Toph forward, and she stumbled alongside him. The people parted like grasses bending aside in front of him, clearing a route to the center of the ballroom. Iroh calmly raising the lights again, sending a few soft jets of flame leaping especially high in the beautiful chandelier, right above Toph and Sokka's heads. With all the eyes of the world watching, Sokka folded an arm around his best friend's waist, taking her hand in his; she placed her hand on his shoulder, and the band—beyond confusion and now simply resigned to the turn of events—struck up a waltz.

"You know how to dance, right?"

"Who the hell d'you think you're talking to, Snoozles?"

"Right. Sorry. So... um, what should I do?"

"Stand straight," she instructed, her voice slightly stronger. "And hold me closer."

His hands tightened, pulling her in from the arm's length she'd been held at. "Like this?"

"Yeah." She lifted her chin, ignoring the flitter of heat across her cheeks. "I guess you can lead."

"Very generous."

They began to dance.

Her small, damp hand fit perfectly in his—Sokka wondered vaguely why he'd never noticed. "So…" he said slowly, "um, about the, uh, kiss."

She flushed slightly, angling her head away. "No worries," she replied quickly. "It never happened."

"Oh," he murmured. When she frowned slightly at his tone, he continued, "You didn't... I mean, you didn't not... like it, right?"

She flushed a dark red, prominent even in the low firelight. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Sokka paused. "Okay," he agreed, after a moment. "It never happened. Guess it's just as well."

He watched her face carefully, knowing he'd read her right when the barest hint of hurt glossed across her eyes. "What do you mean?" she inquired, voice a forcible monotone.

He grinned lightly, and as he spun her slowly they came to a stop in the middle of the floor, a blotch of dripping wet red and green in the middle of the whirling couples. "Because it was just part of a plan," he murmured. His hand was still resting on her waist, hers on his shoulder. "It wasn't supposed to mean anything. And that's not right."

Something was different about him, about the way he spoke. She sensed it, hesitated, frowned. "Sokka…?"

He lifted the hand from her waist to her face, running a thumb softly across her cheek. "This should have been our first kiss," he whispered, and leaned in.

Her lips were still as soft as he'd remembered, and she tasted like surprise and freshwater. When she went rigid, he pulled back an inch or two. "What's wrong?"

She pressed her lips together, eyes wide. "I… that really just _happened_?"

He laughed and this time when he bent down towards her, she was kissing him back, and he didn't know what he had never seen before, or how or why. It was like the ground had flipped beneath his feet in a way that wasn't entirely bad, as if he was standing right-side-up for the first time in his life—earlier he couldn't fathom his own reasons for kissing her, but now he couldn't understand what had taken him him so long. Toph kissed him back, uncertain at first but increasingly sure, and they were both soaked and muddy and embarrassingly obvious but she couldn't imagine a better moment in her life. Lost to the rest of the waltzers, they stood there with their hands still clasped as if frozen mid-dance, and from across the room Ty Lee gave a loud squeal and Iroh grinned a Cheshire cat smile.

When the pair of them separated a moment later, her makeup was still smudged; he still had the remains of a painted scar on his face. Their hair was equally drenched and braided through with pondweed, and they left a silver slick of water behind them as they began again to stumble through the motions of a dance. But of all the couples spread throughout the ballroom, even as other pairs tore their gazes away and resumed their own routines, never had the waltz been danced with the dignity that Toph and Sokka had that night.

* * *

He found Katara crying in her room; he listened to her explanation—not that it wasn't anything he didn't already know; he gave her a hug—_flinching at "You're such a good friend, Aang"_—and led her back out to the ballroom.

And saw the two of them.

Katara chased him out as he spun and ran, ricocheting down the corridors like a pinball let loose, eventually collapsing onto a bench in a courtyard that had seen too much that night. It would have been startlingly ironic if he'd stopped to care. She rounded the corner to see him staring down at his feet, thoughts in his head crying louder than her footsteps. _Their plan… their stupid plan to help me, and _they_ end up together… _and 'you're such a good friend, Aang' stuck playing over and over.

She sat down beside him.

Quietly, he explained. She listened carefully, before speaking at last.

"You did all that for me?"

He looked up, nodded with tremulous eyes.

"Aang," she said softly, "I think… people make mistakes sometimes." When he didn't respond, she forged on despite him. "We can't… hold it against them. People can be stupid, Aang; they can not know what's really best for them."

His face fell. "You mean, trying to get you back."

"No." She smiled, the slightest curve of her lips and tilt of her eyebrows, somehow infinitely bittersweet. "Letting you go."

The Avatar blinked, childish and wide-eyed. "But… but you said—"

"I thought…" She glanced away, fumbling. "That what we had reminded me too much of the war. Of things I didn't want to think about. I wanted to move on, you know?" Her fingers danced against the ground, drumming an awkward, clumsy rhythm. "But that's not the way to do it, is it? You don't move on alone." She pressed her lips together, and squeezed his hand. "You do it together."

The kiss a moment later was soft and hopeful, and from their vantage point just inside one of the doorways, Toph and Sokka clearly deserved the quiet fist-bump they exchanged. "Well?" he whispered, nudging her. "I'm good, right? Toph—hey, Toph, am I good, or am I _good_?"

She snorted. "Sokka, your plan was Spirits-awful."

She bit down a yelp as his arms snaked around her waist, and he tugged her backwards towards him, his lips suddenly against her cheek. "I said," he murmured, voice low in her ear, "am I good, Toph, or am I _good_?"

Grudgingly, she conceded, "This plan was _okay_."

"I'll take it," he shrugged, giving her a squeeze, and she couldn't help the smile that broke across her face. A pause hung in the air for a moment, and then he ventured, "But... never again, right?"

"Oh, _Spirits,_ no," she agreed fervently, and he laughed, slinging an arm around her as they started down the walkway.

* * *

**I'm a little bit at a loss for what to say upon finishing a story (especially since this is only the second time I've actually done so...) but thank you so much for all the reviews and support. And yeah, I'm aware it's all a little goofy—it's 100% meant to be. Potshots at pairings should never be taken to heart; that territory is far too scary for me. But anyway, to those of you who don't mind a little crack or a little fluff, hope you enjoyed it. As always, thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated!**

**—skrybble  
**


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